Ljubljana-Helsinki Flights Aiming for 25,000 Passenger Turnout
Finnish carrier Finnair has launched scheduled flights between Helsinki and Ljubljana on a route that is expected to carry 25,000 passengers a year. Embraer 190, which touched down on Brnik Airport for the first time on Easter Friday, will fly between Ljubljana and Helsinki four times a week.
A member of the board of Aerodrom Ljubljana, the company that manages Brnik Airport, told the press on Thursday that Ljubljana had been without an airlink with Finland since the 1980s.
Zmago Skobir added that the arrival of Finnair was a "piece in Aerodrom's strategy to expand passenger numbers and Slovenia's connections with the world".
Finnair regional director Ralf Massermann said the company would offer leisure and business passengers in Ljubljana flights not only to Finland but also to other Scandinavian countries and the Far East.
Since the air carrier operates flights to Asian destinations, such as Japan, China and India, Slovenia can also expect visitors from those countries, who have so far been arriving in Slovenia mainly by bus from Venice, the press was told as the flights were officially launched.
The new air link was hailed by Finnish Ambassador Birgitta Stenius Mladenov, who had recently noticed a considerable increase in relations between Slovenia and Finland, at the political as well as cultural and economic level.
The great interest in flights to Finland has contributed to a substantial increase in the fare, which is to exceed EUR 300 for the round trip. First flights have been fully booked, while the company expects to enjoy about 65% occupancy rate on the average.
If the interest would exceed the expectations, Finnair is ready to send a larger plane to Slovenia. The brand new Embraer 190 can seat 100 passengers. Officials say the plane is fuel-efficient and as such environment-friendly.
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